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Contact Viken L. Attarian at 514-244-7575
Montreal, QUEBEC, CANADA February 20, 2004– In a unique gesture of inter-community support, several members of the Armenian community of Montreal, as well the three prominent Armenian Student Associations of Concordia University, McGill University and Université de Montréal, have come together to form an Ad Hoc Armenian Committee in Support of Tibet China Negotiations.
The driving event of this initiative is the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Ottawa in April. In autumn of 2000, the Canada Tibet Committee had launched a national campaign to solicit Members of Parliament to sign a common letter to the Prime Minister urging his direct involvement to convene negotiations between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the People’s Republic of China. To date one hundred and twenty-nine (129) MPs, from every political party and region of Canada, have signed their support of the “Tibet-China Negotiation Campaign”. The Ad Hoc Armenian Committee in Support of the Tibet China Negotiations will support this initiative by urging the Armenian community to lobby MPs who have not signed this petition, and add their voice to those of their colleagues.
April is a special month for Armenians around the world as it is the month of commemoration of the first genocide of the 20th century perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government against 1.5 million of its own innocent civilian Armenian population. Armenians are and should be always concerned about the fate of all victims of historical injustice. In particular, His Holiness’ special position of compassion for others and non-violence, creates a unique opportunity for all nations to support peaceful resolutions of disputes and eliminate global terrorism. The Ad Hoc Armenian Committee in Support of the Tibet China Negotiations strongly supports that position.
A special media launch event is scheduled for Friday the 12th of March, with details to be communicated in the near future. For further details on the Tibet-China Negotiation Campaign visit their web site at http://www.tibet.ca/tibetchinanegotiation/ . For Further information please contact Viken L. Attarian at 514-244-7575
Open Letter to All Members of the Armenian Community of Canada
Montreal, February 20, 2004
Dear fellow Canadian-Armenian,
As April 24 approaches, Armenians throughout the world prepare to commemorate the Armenian Genocide and honour their fallen ancestors. We also look to other cultures and people who share our fate and understand our suffering. The noble Tibetan people, victims of injustice and a cultural genocide that continues to this day, risk seeing their very existence erased from the face of the Earth while the rest of the world looks on. They understand and sympathize with our struggle as a small but proud people working to gain recognition of these crimes against humanity. It is for this reason that we as Armenians must do our part in raising awareness of the Tibetan cause and support the search for justice that has, regrettably, escaped us for 89 years. It is by working together with people of a common cause that we can create mutual support bases to have our collective voices heard more strongly and shake the world from its indifference.
It is with great pleasure that we inform you that Nobel Laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, will visit Ottawa from April 21-24, 2004. The objective of the visit is to build Canadian support for formal negotiations between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the People’s Republic of China.
In autumn of 2000, the Canada Tibet Committee launched a national campaign to solicit Members of Parliament to sign a common letter to the Prime Minister urging his direct involvement to convene negotiations between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the People’s Republic of China. To date one hundred and twenty-nine (129) MPs, from every political party and region of Canada, have signed their support of the “Tibet-China Negotiation Campaign”. There remains only the signing on of less than 25 additional members to reach the goal of 150 signatures (half the parliament). There is no doubt that if we all work together, we will achieve this number and more, before the arrival of His Holiness in our nation’s capital next April 2004.
We therefore ask all members of the Armenian Community of Canada to contact the MPs listed below by phone, fax or e-mail and urge them to sign the letter. The CTC web site has a useful tool kit that will guide you through the simple process of sending your MP a letter, and can be found at http://www.tibet.ca/tibetchinanegotiation/toolkit.htm. We also ask that you encourage friends and family members to send letters, in order to let these MPs know that we are all concerned about the situation in Tibet and look to them, as our elected officials, to play a meaningful role.
We thank you in advance for your help and support.
Sincerely,
Armenian Students’ Association of Concordia University
Armenian Students’ Association of McGill University
Armenian Students’ Association of Université de Montréal
Ad Hoc Armenian Committee in Support of Tibet China Negotiations
